News

Session Moderator: I'm excited that Erin Mackler is here today. She works for the AICPA and has some great information about our topic. Let me introduce her quickly and then we'll get on to our subject!Erin joined the AICPA's Assurance Services Team in October 1998 as the SysTrust Team Leader. Ms. Mackler is responsible for overseeing the AICPA's Systems Reliability Task Force in the development and implementation of the CPA SysTrust service.

The Texas Society of CPAs (TSCPA) has recognized six members with the newly created 'Lone Star Pathfinder' honor.This honor is part of the national CPA Vision and the program's effort to identify CPA pathfinders who have truly made a difference to the accounting profession.The six Texans include: Larry R. Cook of Houston, president of Larry R. Cook and Associates, who has actively participated in the marketing and promotion of financial products.

Several members of the Securities Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs are urging Securities & Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt to extend the comment period on the non-audit services portion of the proposed rules on auditor independence until after February 1, 2001.The extension, if granted, "will allow for careful analysis of the proposed changes," according to the letter. The letter was signed by Securities Subcommittee Chairman Senator Rod Grams, and Senators Evan Bayh, Phil Gramm, Charles E. Schumer, Mike Crapo, Robert F.

PricewaterhouseCoopers partners - including present CEO James Schiro - face possible investigation after a US court refused to dismiss a claim alleging that the Big Five firm had misrepresented audit independence violations at electronic manufacturing firm Emcore. A New Jersey court heard that PwC partners had allegedly held on to shares in its audit client Emcore and so delayed a public offering of the firm in early 1999.

A July 27 Wall Street Journal article, 'Phased Retirement Option for Workers Is Mainly a Boon for Their Employers,' generated a Web-based response from worldwide HR consultant Watson Wyatt.The Journal commented that Watson Wyatt recommended phased-in retirement as a way for companies to reduce expenses.However, Watson sees it differently.

On Aug. 16, ACPEN will present a special, one-day satellite broadcast called 'The CPA's Guide to Buying and Selling Businesses'.Speakers for the day include Michael Nall, CPA, executive director of the Alliance of M&A Advisors, who says 'there are several million private businesses needing the services of CPAs and other professionals who can envision, negotiate and manage efficiently the sale and purchase of a business.

Steven E. Abraham, J.D., Ph.D.Associate ProfessorSchool of BusinessState University of N Y at OswegoOswego, NY 13126315/341-3307 (o)315/341-5440 (fax)Dr. Steven E. Abraham holds a B.S. from Cornell University (1980), a J.D. degree from New York University School of Law (1983) and Ph.D. degree in Industrial Relations from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1992).

SysTrust Team LeaderAmerican Institute of Certified Public AccountantErin P. Mackler, CPA, joined the AICPA’s Assurance Services Team in October 1998 as the SysTrust Team Leader. Ms. Mackler is responsible for overseeing the AICPA’s Systems Reliability Task Force in the development and implementation of the CPA SysTrust service. She works with the Task Force in crafting the SysTrust Principles and Criteria for Systems Reliability, which serves as the foundation for the SysTrust service. Ms.

The following is an editorial by Paul Dunn, co-founder of Results Accountants' Systems.Come on — time to own up! Is the Profession actually the oldest Profession in the world?In every gathering of Accountants I'm asked to address, I always ask the question: "how many of us have clients we wish we didn't have?

Changes are in the air at PricewaterhouseCoopers.The world's largest accounting and consulting firm has just named Tom O'Neill as the firm's chief operating officer so that Chief Executive James Schiro can spend more time concentrating on the break-up of the firm.O'Neill currently manages the firm's operations in Canada. The most important aspect of the break-up is the impending sale of the firm's consulting practice, valued at $20 billion.

Eavesdropping devices helped officials catch eight Chicago IRS employees were allegedly were taking bribes in exchange for offering certain taxpayers breaks on paying their income tax.The eight were placed on paid, administrative leave until further notice. While one agent was taped discussing a $25,000 payment, a source close to the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the payment actually was less than $100.At least two of the eight became informants and wore recording equipment on-site.

Bruce VanHornBruce@vanhorn-cpa.comCountthebeans.com212-924-6146As a CPA I have been very successful in incubating a number of Technology/Internet companies through my own client base. Port.ru, a Russian internet portal which I helped start has become the largest email service in Russia with over 2m registered users and a market valuation of 80m.

Lee Walthall is the Chairman and CEO for Birmingham, Alabama-based Nationtax Online, the only company currently offering a completely Web-based solution for business tax preparation, filing and payment in multiple local, state and federal tax jurisdictions. Nationtax holds the distinction of currently being the only private company approved by the IRS to process a federal business tax form, Form 941 (Employers Quarterly Withholding) completely over the Web.

This article reprinted with permission by the Financial Management Network.E-mail is by far the preferred means of communication for millions of professionals worldwide. For busy executives, it can save valuable time, particularly when seeking a new position.

Let's face it: you're not an Arthur Andersen or MobilExxon, and you'll never be in the big leagues when it comes to purchasing power. Nevertheless, the small business traveler may go on just as many trips or rent just as many cars as the big guys, so why should they get all the perks?Changes are very much in the works across all vertical travel industries. For example, several airlines, like Delta and Northwest, have revamped their Web sites to aid the small business traveler in make all arrangements through a one-stop shopping portal.

Among Wednesday’s speakers at the Securities and Exchange hearings on auditor independence was John H. Biggs, Chairman, President, and CEO of TIAA-CREF, the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association and College Retirement Equities Fund.TIAA-CREF manages $300 billion for its participants and invests $1.5 billion in new fixed income every month and even more in common stock. Biggs told of an incident that occurred several years ago in which his company relied on audited financial statements in making a $12 million investment.

The Ziff-Davis Smart Business Labs rated and ranked Web-Based accounting software as part of a longer article examining the ins and outs of companies outsourcing accounting functions to a Web-based service.Accounting services reviewed include NetLedger, Flagship, Sage's MAS 90 and Intacct.

Speaking before the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, Professor Rick Antle of the Yale School of Management indicated it is usually unreasonable to assume an auditing firm than performs non-audit services is going to compromise its audit.Antle has studied the issue of auditor independence at length and is co-author of the white paper, "An Economic Analysis of Auditor Independence for a Multi-client, Multi-service Public Accounting Firm" submitted to the Independence Standards Board (ISB) on behalf of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).In an inte